COLLEGE: Amanda Baginski commits to Millersville University

When Amanda Baginski was five years old, her family moved from a small town outside of Pittsburgh east to Waynesboro.

Lee Goodwin

WAYNESBORO — When Amanda Baginski was five years old, her family moved from a small town outside of Pittsburgh east to Waynesboro.

In the fall, Baginski will be heading farther east, to Millersville University. The 17-year-old senior at Waynesboro Area Senior High School recently committed to the NCAA Division II university where she will major in psychology and continue her swimming career.

It was a decision that took some thought and deliberation, but now that she has made it, Baginski is excited to join the ranks of her teammates in the college pool.

"In January, I decided I wanted to swim in college," Baginski said. "I filled out a prospect form and emailed my times. (Coach Kyle Almoney) and I emailed back and forth. Finally, I did an overnight and officially committed to swim for them."

Baginski, the daughter of Aaron and Kara Baginski, has been swimming competitively for 10 years. She began her career with the Waynesboro YMCA Waves in 2007.

"I started swimming when I was seven," she said. "My sister (Alli) swam. She was four years older than me. I looked up to her and wanted to do what she did."

In fact, swimming is the only sport Amanda has ever competed in.

She made a splash from day one with the Waves, and by the time she was a middle schooler, she rose to the Pennsylvania YMCA District and State Championship levels. In 2012, Baginski placed 10th in the state championship in the 100 yard freestyle.

She currently holds team records in the 200 and 400 freestyle relays set in 2013.

In 2014, Baginski started her high school swimming career by qualifying for the Mid-Penn Conference championships and earned a varsity letter and pins her freshman, sophomore and senior years.

During her junior year, Baginski was diagnosed with hyper laxity instability, dislocation, and hyper mobility, a common problem in competitive swimmers, said Kara Baginski.

"She was forced to take the remainder of the season off with physical therapy and rest," Kara said. "Her senior year she has come back stronger than ever qualifying for Mid-Penns as well as the PA YMCA Central District and State Championships under head coach Jonathan Holmes."

Amanda earned personal best times in the 50 and 100 freestyle, as well as the 50 backstroke.

As previously mentioned, swimming is her sport of choice, and it's been good to her.

"Everything is on you," Baginski said of swimming. "Of course, you have your teammates, but it's a sport where you can't put the blame on anyone else. That really teaches you a lot. That really taught me a lot when I was growing up and made me mature really quick.

"It's not a sport a lot of people can go in right away. Not a lot of people are going to like staring at a black line in the pool. It's probably one of the hardest sports out there. It is an underestimated sport, an underdog sport that people don't pay attention to."

Baginski prides herself being a sprinter.

"I am a sprinter; I don't do distance," she said. "When you're a swimmer, you're brought up to be a sprinter or a distance swimmer. In college, they'll see what you're good at. They can throw me in the 800 just to see how good I am. I think they'll probably put me in a sprinting category, but I honestly have no idea. Who knows? I might go in a sprinter and come out a distance swimmer."

Baginski said she will get back to training on May 15, when the summer swim season begins.

"That's when I will be back in the water to get ready for college," she said. "College season starts two weeks after classes begin."

While she is eager to begin the next chapter in her life, Baginski won't soon forget the experiences with the other swimmers on the Waynesboro high school team.

"We had 15 swimmers on the team," Baginski said. "This year, we had our very first senior night. We have four seniors, and Darek Benchoff made districts.

"We made the best of it. We're not fully recognized as a team, kind of like Evan Hine (in tennis). It is kind of the reality of things. That's how my sister swam. That's the way it was for me, but I still wanted to swim for the high school."

Contact Lee Goodwin at 717-762-2151, lgoodwin@therecordherald.com or on Twitter: @LeeG_RH

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